June 30, 2019

Coming Out | I didn’t break off our engagement. We got married.

I’ve been gay my whole life. I’ve known it my whole life. I remember being attracted to men and boys my age way back into elementary years. I had no idea what gay was until junior high. I thought it … Read the rest here

Latter Gay Stories

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Latter Gay Stories

8 hours ago

Anita Bryant, the evangelical Christian who became infamous for leading anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, passed away on December 16, 2024, at age 84. Her family delayed announcing her death, citing concerns over potential backlash due to her polarizing views and activism.

Before her activism made her a darling of religious conservatives, Bryant was a prominent figure in American entertainment. She found fame as a pop artist with chart-topping hits and became a household name as a spokesperson for Florida’s orange growers.

Bryant’s shift to activism began in 1977 when she led the successful repeal of a Miami-Dade County ordinance that banned employment and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation. Outraged by the ordinance's passage, she launched the "Save Our Children" campaign, which claimed that LGBTQ+ people were a threat to children. The effort led to a public vote where over 70% of residents supported repealing the law. The ordinance was eventually reinstated in 1998, with gender identity protections added in 2014.

Bryant’s activism didn’t stop there. Her campaign inspired Florida's long-standing ban on adoption by same-sex couples, which was finally overturned in 2010. Although she claimed not to hate LGBTQ+ people and founded Anita Bryant Ministries to offer so-called "ex-gay" therapy, she frequently equated LGBTQ+ identities with pedophilia.

In 2021, Bryant’s granddaughter, Sarah Green, publicly shared that she was gay and engaged to a woman. Bryant responded to the news by telling Green that homosexuality was a "delusion" created by the devil and encouraged her to pray for a man to come into her life.

Bryant’s life took a downturn in her later years. According to The Washington Post, she filed for bankruptcy, struggled to provide for her children, lost her marriage, and faced dependency on pills and alcohol. She admitted contemplating suicide—a stark contrast to her once squeaky-clean public image.

Her legacy remains deeply divisive, symbolizing a painful chapter in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality while also serving as a cautionary tale about the personal toll of hate-driven activism. ... See MoreSee Less

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Latter Gay Stories

2 days ago

One of my family members called and let me know that their ward held a “special” LGBTQ Q&A to help their church members better understand the LGBTQ experience. Unfortunately, my family left the meeting disappointed.

The problem: not one single queer person was allowed to speak or present at this particular ward event. (To be clear, there were queer members who were available to speak, they weren’t *allowed* to speak.) The bishop feared that queer people might give a biased opinion about current and past church leaders. 🫣

Usually, I’m all for any kind of community effort to help better embrace and understand marginalized people.

Latter-day Saints, as you continue to clear your pews of difference and silence the voices of diversity you will only yield a version of reality that looks the way you want it to look.

Straight Mormons cannot effectively teach you what gay Mormons *actually* experience.

If you’re not hearing it from the source, then you’re only hearing a version created to pacify you. Full stop. 👏👏

You can do better than this.

In an era of widespread LGBTQ excommunications within Latter-day Saint chapels, the pews are getting straighter and emptier. You can’t afford this.

Let us know when you’re ready to hear the whole story, we’re willing to share it.

#LatterGayStories #Listen ... See MoreSee Less

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Latter Gay Stories

3 days ago

The Idaho Legislature has launched its first initiative of the year: putting same-sex marriage in their crosshairs—urging the U.S. Supreme Court to return the authority to states to regulate marriage laws.

The resolution takes aim at the landmark 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard), who is sponsoring the resolution, argued that the decision stripped states of their right to determine marriage laws. “What this decision did is it took the right away from the state to make the decision on marriage laws,” Scott said. “Traditionally, that’s a state’s decision.”

While the resolution carries no legal weight, it asserts that the Obergefell ruling undermines the principles of the U.S. Constitution by requiring individuals to seek dignity through the state rather than recognizing their inherent worth as “being created in the image of God.”

Nearly a decade prior to Obergefell, Idaho voters approved a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.

Today’s resolution claims the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize same-sex marriages has “undermined the civil liberties” of residents and voters in states like Idaho.

“Since court rulings are not laws, and only legislatures elected by the people may pass laws, Obergefell is an illegitimate overreach,” the resolution states.

Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa), an attorney and supporter of the measure, framed the issue as one of judicial overreach and states’ rights, rather than same-sex marriage itself. “I see this as not an issue on same-sex marriage, but on judicial activism and states’ rights,” Skaug said.

No one spoke in favor of or against the resolution during its introduction. The House State Affairs Committee, which includes both Republican and Democratic members, voted unanimously to move the measure forward.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, (D-Boise), and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, (D-Boise), called the effort a “sad distraction” from more important issues.

“This is yet another example of the extreme wing of the Republican Party ginning up divisive social issues in order to create problems where none exist. Big government has no business telling consenting adults who they should love.”

If approved by both chambers, the resolution will be sent to the U.S. Supreme Court. ... See MoreSee Less

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Coming Out | I didn’t break off our engagement. We got married.

Latter Gay Stories

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